Sunday, March 29, 2015

I was excited to hear that the creme de la creme of international obstacle course racing might be setting up right here in Kuala Lumpur because that would mean...not having to spend thousands of ringgit jetting to Australia, UK or America just to get three big-ass medals and one elusive tri-colour medal reserved solely for the Trifecta tribe of Spartan.

Firstly, what is Reebok Spartan Race? It's a series of obstacle course race with three different categories of distance and total of obstacles consisting off Sprint (5-7km), Super (14km) and finally Beast (21km) or for the insane, the ultra Beast (42km). Completion of all three within a calender year will earn you the Trifecta medal. That stupid glorious chunk of tri-coloured metal.

Last year, I flew to Gold Coast (thanks to Airasia X's reasonably priced flight tickets) to take part in Spartan Beast. It was a killer with over 30 obstacles, a challenging terrain and the punishment of burpees for each failed obstacle but I was addicted. Just holding that palm-size medal in my hand...it was the most satisfying thing ever. You can read about my Spartan experience here.

After the recent Viper Challenge, it seems like Malaysians are more willing to challenge themselves beyond just running the distance. However, are we ready for a Spartan Race? Will we actually do the punishment of 30 burpees for each failed obstacles? Will we honour the spirit, sportsmanship and ethnics of this race by not cheating, cutting queues, complaining and giving up? In all honesty, after what I observed at Viper, no. Heck, I saw many people shoving and pushing and cutting queues, I saw people taking short cuts across the route.

So no. Many of us aren't ready for an obstacle race like Spartan. But those who are and/or have done Spartan honorably, well, they are the ones who understand the value of owning one or two or three or all of those medals. So for the sake of those Spartans in Malaysia, I hope Reebok Spartan Race does come here and by God, I hope we Malaysians don't make a mockery of it.

So yeah...With a Spartan Malaysia in the works, my dream of getting the Trifecta medal have just became a step closer to reality. Otherwise...it's back to continent hopping all over Australia for me. And it's bye bye retirement fund.

So Spartans within the region, if you want Reebok Spartan Race to come to Kuala Lumpur, just pre-register here so that the organizers know that you are keen and just dying to do burpees!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Stress goes hand-in-hand with living and working in a city like Kuala Lumpur. So wouldn't be nice to be able to come home and find a spa-like treatment waiting for you at home?

Offering just that, the newly opened Spa Ceylon in NU Sentral KL lets shoppers bring home the spa treatment of their choice to help them pamper and de-stress the day away. All packed up in convenient elegant bottles or boxed, Spa Ceylon offers the natural well-being rituals derived from the royal treatment, rejuvenations and healing rituals of luxury Ayurveda though its variety of products and ranges suitable for the body, mind and soul.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Somewhere behind me, behind those 5 foot walls set up in middle of a plantation in Sepang, I could hear my friend coaxing a pair of girls to use him as a step for them to get over aforementioned walls. Ahead of me, my sister was scrambling over the walls with sheer determination and I thought, "if she can do it, so can I."

So I did it. Awkward and uncoordinated. Not at all like how my Bootcamp instructor taught us (he would burst a vein if he saw how I did it) but I did it nevertheless. And even though those walls were only 5 foot, it was an achievement for me.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

MATTA Fair maybe over but if Taiwan is on your travel bucket list then swing by 1 Utama from 25-29 March to catch the first ever Taiwan Travel Fair organised by Taiwan Tourism Bureau Kuala Lumpur (TTBKL).

With the first Taiwan Travel Fair, you can expect great value travel deals thanks to TTBKL who have tied up with top Taiwanese and Malaysian travel agencies to offer a variety of exciting packages and the most attractive travel deals for all destinations in Taiwan. This also includes customised packages or tours specially-catered for Muslim visitors who has food concerns.

Friday, March 20, 2015

After hearing many good things about Frisky Goat in TTDI, I finally dropped by for a lunch. Parking however was a challenge and I had to circle the block three times before I lucked out and scored a parking spot right in front of Frisky Goat.

Upon entering, I was greeted with a cheery 'hello, welcome to Frisky Goat!', was quickly shown to a table and given a menu. It was a weekday and the cafe itself wasn't crowded with a nice upbeat music playing in the background. The chattering of three Australian ladies at the table next mine gave me the illusion of being in Australia. One can imagine, can't she. The ambiance was inviting with a corner offering their pastries and bread and a display of tantalizing cakes and desserts. The seats against the wall were lined with funky cushions and was quite cosy.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Being a TGV Cinemas Movie Club member has its perks. Firstly, I was first in (on)line to get advanced tickets for Avengers: Age of Ultron in April. Secondly, I got premiere screening tickets to watch the Divergent sequel: Insurgent.

Oddly enough, I only just watched Divergent the previous week on Astro (out of curiosity and intrigued) and found out hey, the sequel is coming out this week.

Growing up during my primary school days, I had bad English. Like really bad. I was talking like a Cina person and had a tendency to throw out this phrases 'HAH!', 'ABUDEN' and 'THEN WHAT TALKING YOU?!' very loudly. And I owe it all to Phua Chu Kang, best in Singapore, JB and some say Batam. Yeh, growing up I didn't exactly the best role model for English...

But yet I would loyally follow the series every Sunday night. Let's not forget PCK's impersonation of the infamous Ris Low. So when news came that Gurmit Singh retired, I was sad. Asia lost a cherished comedy friend.

So when I heard that he was hosting Laugh Die You, a comedy showdown between Malaysia and Singapore at HGH Convention Centre right here in Kuala Lumpur (hah, take that Singapore!) I was excited!

Monday, March 16, 2015

So I was in Singapore recently for a work thing and since it spilled into a weekend, I decided to extend my trip by an extra day so that I could explore more of Singapore.

One would think that Singapore is too pricy and much too similar to Malaysia to be any more fun. Well, yes and no. Yes, it is rather pricey especially to visit its main attractions like Universal Studios. And no because there are tons of things to see and do whilst on a budget and all within 24 hours.

9am - a lazy morning exploring the eateries in front and around Ibis Novena, my hotel for the first night. Unlike Malaysia where coffee shops and mamaks are plentiful, the area was sparsely and lacking in food choices.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Let me share with you a little hidden jem in the midst of PJ Old Town. There is a food court right next to the morning wet market which serves pretty good curry fish head, Yong Tau Foo and also banana leaf.

It is also home to the most delicious succulent grilled pork chop. This little unpresumptious western stall serves up the basic chicken chop, pork chop or beef steak topped with a choice of garlic, black pepper or mushroom sauce. Two sides of grilled vegetables and homemade potato chips (super good) completes the dish.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

A friend just opened up an Italian eatery at the new PJ Centrestage, Section 13, a stone's throwaway from my house and office and mostly importantly, also serves upon oven-baked thin crust pizza. I just love thin crust pizza especially when topped with a lot of meat! But I'll get more into detail on that later.

The restaurant is called Enorme, Italian for enourmous and I'll show you why the name befits the place. Because of this!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

So a day before Chinese New Year, my office gave us a half-day off and my colleague and I decided to watch Kingsmen: Secret Service at the newly opened TGV Cinemas outlet in Jaya Shopping Centre. It was a weekday and half of Petaling Jaya was outstation leading to a quiet mall and even better yet, a quiet cinema hall.

The best part was...I didn't have to pay a single thing for my movie outing. Not for my tickets or for my popcorn and drinks. Nadah. Zilch. Zero. Nothing.

And it was all thanks to my TGV Cinemas Club membership. Upon signing up, each members gets a pair of free movie tickets of their choice and a popcorn set. And in one go, I used both. Totally worth it. I felt like I was being rewarded for my love for movies.

So I guess that's one way of watching a movie F.O.C.

Another way would be to join the TGV Cinemas' 30 Days of Goodies that is taking place at Jaya Shopping Centre. From 5th March to 5th April, the first 100 moviegoers everyday stands a chance of walking away with a free movie ticket or a free popcorn. To be one of the lucky people, all you need to do is....

1. Buy ONE movie ticket.
2. Take a photo of themselves with the TGV Cinemas' signage
3. Upload the photo to either Facebook, Instagram OR Twitter with the hashtag #tgvcinemas and #JayaShoppingCentre

And voila! You're done! If you're one of the first 100 people to do that, then a free movie ticket or popcorn is a done deal! Save it for a 'forever alone' day or spend it on your date, it's up to you.

This only applies to TGV Cinemas at Jaya Shopping Centre ya..... (can't stress this enough knowing how people are...)